Jayhawks lead wire-to-wire, defeat Longhorns 79-67

Kansas overcomes a career day from Texas freshman Jarrett Allen and KU moves to 7-0 in conference play.

A three by Devonte Graham followed by a three from Frank Mason gave Kansas a quick 6-0 lead that they would never relinquish.

Kansas forced six Texas turnovers in the first 4:38 of play, jumping out to an impressive 14-2 lead.

That lead was cut into drastically after Frank Mason went to the bench with his second foul of the first half. At the 7:57 mark, Texas had cut the Kansas lead to five, trailing 24-19. Mason exited the game at the 10:16 mark with Kansas leading, 24-12.

The Jayhawks were held without a field goal for 6:31 toward the end of the half, but Mitch Lightfoot’s tip-in resumed the scoring. An end-of-half scoring avalanche ensued with two Graham threes and a Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk three, forcing Texas coach Shaka Smart to call timeout.

KU led at the half, 41-33 led by Devonte Graham’s 15 first-half points. Texas’ Jarrett Allen recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half alone.

Frank Mason led the charge the rest of the way, scoring 12 of his 17 points in 20 minutes of second-half action.

Texas’ star freshman big man Jarrett Allen finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds, both career highs. Allen exited the game for a stretch in the second half after suffering what appeared to be a foot injury.

The play was often sloppy, with both teams struggling with turnover issues. Kansas committed 16 turnovers, Texas gave up 19.

The win against Texas gives Kansas its 18th straight victory and improves their conference record to 7-0. Texas moves to 7-12, 1-6 in Big 12 action.

Notes:

• Frank Mason was a team-high +22 in his 34 minutes of action. Mason was +18 at the half, but Kansas was outscored by 10 with their senior point guard on the bench.
• Devonte Graham finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-10 shooting; 4-8 from three.
• Landen Lucas pulled down 14 rebounds, marking the sixth time this season the senior has recorded a double-digit rebound performance.
• Josh Jackson recorded 15 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists in 32 minutes. He was 2-5 from beyond the arc.
• For the game, KU shot 48% from three, and 71% at the free-throw line.
• This victory marked the 50th consecutive win at Allen Fieldhouse, the longest home winning streak in the country.
• Kansas travels to Morgantown to play No. 7 West Virginia on Tuesday, January 24th. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN.